Dental Anxiety Management
Are you looking for tips and ideas to better help your anxious patients? On these pages, you can find a wide range of free materials for clinicians, dental students, and allied professionals.
Practical and clinical tips in managing anxious dental patients
Mike Gow is well known in the field of dental anxiety management. In this webinar, he introduces his top fast and effective tips. The presentation covers language and communication, behavioural management techniques, technology, local anaesthesia techniques, injection tips, techniques to reduce gagging, and general chairside tips.
Duration: 64 minutes (free to view, registration required)
Tips and Resources
Top Tips for Treating Nervous Patients
Fraser Hendrie runs a practice in Edinburgh which specialises in helping nervous and phobic patients. Here are his top tips for dental anxiety management.
Trauma-Informed Care Resources
Unfortunately, there are many similarities between sexual abuse and dental appointments. Find out how you can help with these free booklets, videos and other resources for dental professionals.
Iatrosedation by Dr Nathan Friedman
Iatrosedation is the relief of anxiety through the dentist’s behaviour. This is the seminal article by Dr Nathan Friedman in full. Originally published in 1967, it is as relevant today as ever.
How to Fight ‘Fight or Flight’
Niall Neeson is the clinical director at Boyne Dental in Navan, where he has developed a patient-centred approach for dental phobics. Here, he shares six simple tips for helping people overcome dental anxiety.
Communication and Language
The careful use of language can be a key tool in helping patients cope with dental treatment. Dentist Lincoln Hirst, who has a special interest in treating very nervous patients, shares his thoughts.
Patient Forms and Questionnaires
Get free questionnaires and patient forms for use in your practice – for nervous adult patients as well as for dentally anxious children and teens. You can also find dental anxiety scales commonly used in research.
Patient Perspectives on Dental Phobia
What is it like to be suffering with dental phobia, fear or anxiety? Get first-hand insights through these personal accounts:
Did you know?
Dental Fear Central’s pages for patients contain lots of useful tips for clinicians. Examples include 15 Top Tops for Preventing Gagging, a perceived Lack of Control, and Needle Phobia Desensitisation Protocols.